Renin is a proteolytic enzyme synthesized and stored principally in a specific part of the kidney called the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Any of three different physiologic circumstances may cause the release of renin into the circulation: (a) a decrease in the blood pressure entering or within the kidney itself; (b) a decrease in the blood volume in the body; or (c) a fall in the concentration of sodium in the distal tubules of the kidney.
When renin is released into the blood from the kidney, the renin-angiotensin system is activated, leading to vasoconstriction and conservation of sodium, both of which result in increased blood pressure. The renin acts on a circulating protein, angiotensinogen, to cleave out a fragment called angiotensin I (AI). AI itself has only slight pharmacologic activity but, after additional cleavage by a second enzyme, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), forms the potent molecule angiotensin II (AII). The major pharmacological effects of AII are vasoconstriction and stimulation of the adrenal cortex to release aldosterone, a hormone which causes sodium retention. AII is cleaved by an aminopeptidase to form angiotensin III (AIII), which, compared to AII, is a less potent vasoconstrictor but a more potent inducer of aldosterone release.
Inhibitors of renin have been sought as agents for control of hypertension and as diagnostic agents for identification of cases of hypertension due to renin excess.
With these objectives in mind, the renin-angiotension system has been modulated or manipulated, in the past, with ACE inhibitors. However, ACE acts on several substrates other than angiotensin I (AI), most notably the kinins which cause such undesirable side effects as pain, "leaky" capillaries, prostaglandin release and a variety of behavioral and neurologic effects. Further, ACE inhibition leads to the accumulation of AI. Although AI has much less vasocontrictor activity than AII, its presence may negate some of the hypotensive effects of the blockade of AII synthesis.
Inhibition of other targets in the renin-angiotensin system such as AII with compounds such as saralasin can block AII activity, but would leave unimpaired and perhaps enhance the hypertensive effects of AIII.
On the other hand, there are no known side effects which result when renin is inhibited from acting on its substrate. Considerable research efforts have thus been carried out to develop useful inhibitors of renin. Past research efforts have been directed to renin antibodies, pepstatin, phospholipids and substrate analogs such as tetrapeptides and octapeptides to tridecapeptides. These inhibitors either demonstrate poor activity in inhibiting renin production or poor specificity for inhibiting renin only. However, Boger et al. have reported that statine-containing peptides possess potent and specific renin-inhibiting activity (Nature, Vol. 303, p. 81, 1983). In addition, Szelke and co-workers have described polypeptide analogs containing a non-peptide link (Nature, Vol. 299, p. 555, 1982) which also cause potent renin inhibition and show a high specificity for this enzyme.